A study commissioned by international skills body OPITO has revealed that the in ...

A study commissioned by international skills body OPITO has revealed that the industry is in overwhelming support of common global standards for health and safety training. The findings of the research, which was conducted by the Aberdeen Business School at the Robert Gordon University, show that a lack of consistency and variations in regional approaches to training are barriers to achieving competency and changes in behaviour. The study, entitled Beyond the Barricades, sought to provide in-depth understanding of the ways in which training is delivered, how it adds value to those operating internationally, the means that are used to measure that value and the significance for companies of international standards in achieving improved safety and competency. Almost 97% felt that uniform global industry standards would result in higher standards, improved workforce mobility, efficiency, quality of training and capabilities in the workforce, increased ability of companies to respond to incidents, trade globally and to benchmark training, and greater capacity for organisations to assess and share resource requirements as well as reductions in training costs. The main barrier to achieving global standards was the variety and complexity of existing standards. Others were culture, language and climatic requirements as well as the confusing number and varying roles of regulatory bodies and organisations. The solution, according to respondents, is to develop an effective global standard that is flexible and takes account of local operational environments. Increased communication and awareness, high quality instructors, continual auditing, familiar frames of reference and improving a culture of personal awareness were all cited as ways of overcoming the barriers. Over 60 senior figures from multinational, national and independent oil companies, as well as service companies, in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the US and Latin America were interviewed.